On October  20th, 2010 at 8am I got the call that I was playing Violet. Almost exactly a year later I’m heading into my closing weekend. So much has happened to me in this past year both personally and professionally, but through it all Violet was there. That plucky, damaged, but hopeful creature has occupied my brain for a full year. She helped me get through some of the toughest times of my life, because I knew I had her to look forward to. Conversely, that little minx caused me a couple of mini-breakdowns. I just didn’t know if I could pull her off. Maybe they had made some sort of mistake by hiring me? Could I really do justice to this beautiful role? Well, her and I got through all of the self doubt and neurosis and created something that became very special to me, and now I have to let her go. We close on Sunday.

I’m heading into my last weekend of shows for Violet A Musical, and I can say honestly that this has been the most rewarding theatrical experience of my life. I have never felt more connected to the material of a show. I have never felt more artistically satisfied or creatively challenged. I have never felt more proud of a project, a cast, and frankly of myself. I have also never felt more love and support from friends, colleagues, teachers, and the community. This show moves people. What a gift that we were able to move people.

This project was fraught with struggles and complications that have already been talked about extensively, so I won’t go into specifics. I’ll just say that overcoming each problem that came our way has made the reward so much sweeter. So much hard work and passion and love was poured into this project by so many people. I could go on and on about my esteem for these people and about how much I love them and respect their talent and integrity. Thank you to everyone that made this show possible. I will miss you and more importantly, I respect you.

I shed many tears the day I was cast as Violet and I’m sure I will shed many more the day I say goodbye to her. She has changed my life. This show has changed my life. I could not be more grateful. Thank you from the very bottom of my heart and soul.

Harmony France (Violet)

Violet at the Mercury Theatre for one last weekend:
Thursday 7:30pm
Friday      7:30pm
Saturday  3pm & 7:30pm
Sunday    3pm

BUY TICKETS HERE: http://mercurytheaterchicago.com/

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 13th, 2011 at 2:48 pm and is filed under Embarrassing stories, Questions and Answers, The Scoop on Harmony. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.